1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to remote controls for controlling electronic equipment and, more particularly, to a remote control for controlling electronic equipment wherein a label is provided on a display of the remote control in response to actuation of a button or key of the remote control.
2. Background Information
In a universal remote control (remote), a common problem is that the label printed on a button or key of the remote does not necessarily exactly match the function performed by the button. For example, in RCA's OEM (original equipment manufacturer) universal remotes, the ANTENNA button in a TV (television) mode switches antennas (which is intuitive enough), but in a VCR (video cassette recorder) mode the ANTENNA button performs the function that is more commonly known as TV/VCR. In a SAT (satellite) mode, the ANTENNA button performs the function that is more commonly known as TV/SAT. These three functions share in common the ability to switch the RF (radio frequency) passthrough signal on a device. However, to put the labels ANTENNA, TV/VCR and TV/SAT on a remote would be cluttered, as well as cumbersome with respect to the labeling of a single button. A prior art compromise to the above labeling problem is to label the button with a single label (e.g. ANTENNA) and hope that the user reads the instruction book to discover the other non-self-evident (but related) functions for the button.
Some Universal remotes solve the above-noted problem of the mismatch between button labels printed on the remote and the stored function thereof (pre-programmed or learned) by providing a sheet of stick-on function labels that are pasted onto the remote next to the particular button. Other remotes utilize a list in the user's manual thereto of what functions are stored with regard to which key, presumably for reference and/or memorization by the user.
High-end remotes solve the above-noted problem by utilizing a pixel driven LCD touch-screen display. This type of display has a plurality of small pixels that allow a user to create customized labels for buttons. This type of display also allows button layout and size change via software. In such systems, however, the screen typically displays the button labels and/or configuration without the buttons being activated. While this last solution is very flexible, it is also very costly to implement.
It is evident from the above that what is needed is a remote control that provides a cost effective manner of providing custom key labeling or naming.